Tides
by wearenotgods
Summary: A series of one-shots in the Weightless Under Gravity and Defibrillation universe.
1. Cotton Candy Chiffon

**A/N: The title of these one shots is based on the story from Tyler's POV that I haven't posted. Tyler's harder for me to write so that could be why I skipped over that to post this. It should be up in a few days. Common sense would tell me to wait it out since it has more background, but whatever. These stories aren't going to be in order anyway. **

**I haven't been writing anything but really depressing stuff lately and that's kind of all I want to write tbh, but this is pretty fluffy (which is rare for me to write, and pretty rare for the stories in this universe), but the other two were pretty… idk sad? This is me switching it up, I guess.**

**I've edited this but honestly I cannot reread this again so I do apologize for any typos. All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

Cotton candy chiffon is what Caroline calls the pastel blue dress she hands Bonnie. Of course the shoulders are big, as are the shoulders of most of the dresses they'd tried on for the eighties dance, but this one is only huge there and hugs her hips nicely (mainly because it's a size too small and it's a little too late to be picky).

"Tyler will like it," Caroline says in that awkward way she always does when she talks about Tyler, but especially when talking about Tyler _and_ Bonnie. This non-thing they've got going on makes him the topic of discussion more than Bonnie would like and it brings up a lot of questions she doesn't feel comfortable answering. They aren't doing anything wrong, haven't done anything besides kiss a few times, and she's listened to Tyler talk, _a lot_, _the boy talks a lot_ , but all it takes is Caroline overhearing an argument they had at school to think that they're planning a June wedding.

"So are you guys a thing now?" The blonde feigns nonchalance, a sure sign that she's everything but calm.

"Who?"

"You and Ty?"

The vampire runs her hands along the cool metal of the hangers. Elena's still in the dressing room, Bonnie'd heard her on the phone with Jeremy and that'd been enough to force her out.

"We're just going to the dance together. That's it."

"How'd that happen? It's not like you guys aren't really friends."

Tyler still hasn't told her about the sire-bond and it's definitely not her place to her either. "We are now. That's it." Actually she'd told him the easiest thing to do was to stay home, and he'd promised her that if they went they wouldn't stay for long. _What else are you going to be doing? Come on, I'll make it up to you. _"It's our senior year; he just didn't want to be the loser who went alone, neither did I."

That's the end of the conversation.

* * *

Tyler may or may not like her dress specifically, but she can feel him trying not to stare at her since they've gotten in the car.

"You look nice," he says. This is third time he's given her this compliment, it's the third time she's laughed it off.

"Thanks, _again_."

"Sorry, I..."

A soft puff of air resembling a laugh leaves her lips, "it's cool."

* * *

They sway to the slow songs and skip the fast ones. Tyler's an okay dancer, nothing to write home about, and Bonnie doesn't really feel like dancing. She does go out to the dance floor finding Caroline and Elena when _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun_ is blasted throughout the gym and stays until the. Tyler's and Matt are holding up the wall, sipping on punch she's sure is spiked.

She wonders what the boys were talking about, if Matt's asked about them. Caroline and Elena have made desperate attempts to make this something that it's not, mean more than it does, but it's so easy to tune it out. It doesn't matter anyway.

Matt leaves before he can be accused of neglecting his two dates and Bonnie's arm snakes around Tyler's waist as the football player leaves, only to tuck herself underneath Ty's arm. She can put on these pretenses for a while, pretend that life is normal and going to school dances are things she looks forward to, but Tyler knows.

He tightens his arm around her and walks them towards the door.

* * *

Tyler's home will always feel like a museum no matter how many times she been here. Unlike her house they never have to sneak around, she's pretty sure she could live here and Tyler's mom wouldn't even know.

The mayor is asleep, _her heartbeat_, he whispers as they head to the kitchen. As to be expected it's huge, metal appliances littering the cabinets, pots hang from hooks.

Bonnie's taken off her shoes at the door, bare feet cool on the expensive tile while Tyler's taken off his sports coat and wrapped it around her shoulders when he sees her shiver. He raids the fridge pulling out cheese and meat trays and fruit and vegetable platters. He lives for this stuff, blood only an addition to his diet. There are always leftovers from events and he decorates Bonnie's plate with a special kind of care before tossing the finger foods on his own.

They sit there in silence, Bonnie crunching on carrots as he checks his phone.

Her manicured nails tap against the marble of the counter and she wipes idly at a water spot left by her glass. "How are you going to make it up to me?"

Tyler's eyes move from his phone to his hers. "I don't know…what do you want?"

She doesn't even know.

"Come upstairs?"

Bonnie smiles her first genuine smile of the night.

* * *

Tyler doesn't move slowly, that's what all the rumors say, yet he still hasn't done anything past kissing her neck, hands always above clothes, always polite. She keeps waiting for him to push it, _wanting him to_, but this is what they've been doing as of late and she'll take what she can get. She likes the routine in his kisses, it gives her something to look forward to, something solid that doesn't change. It's insignificant in the grand scheme of things, making-out when she should be looking to stop Klaus seems like a terrible decision, but when Tyler's mouth is unpredictable against her skin, she knows how to respond. There's routine in that too and what makes it better is the response being all instinct. There's no thinking. It's easier than researching spells that are bound to fail.

His TV blasts some annoying cartoon that she turns it off telepathically after a few minutes. Tyler stops then, head raising and looking over at the dark screen for a second and then he's back at her neck. He groans and shifts his weight, moving the hardness against her thigh away and ultimately bringing her attention to it.

Bonnie's hand moves instinctively to his hip wanting to keep him there, and when he looks at her eyes, questioning, she averts them. Her shyness hasn't so much as made an appearance, maybe it's because she's comfortable with him, maybe it's because it would require more caring on her for him has crept up on her in the past few weeks, but what she wants to do with Tyler isn't something she usually does with people she's just fond of.

There are things that they should probably discuss beforehand because it's the adult thing to do; she doesn't remember what the teenage thing to do would be. She's always got to be the adult, make the adult decisions. She should be thinking about Caroline, not that she doesn't have phantom feelings about that, like she knows she should feel bad, but she doesn't have much to hold on to right now. Tyler and Caroline have forever, and Bonnie probably won't make it to graduation. This is mindless and fun, and honestly it isn't unpleasant to have somebody whose presence is so grounding around her right now.

"You want me to stop?"

"No."

"Is it time for me to take you home?"

"No. I told my dad I was staying with the girls."

"Oh_, okay_…what's wrong then?"

She pulls the skirt of her dress from underneath him. "Can I borrow some clothes?" It's not what she meant, she doesn't actually know what she meant but it's the first thing that come to mind.

He's flustered just a little, and she can see his bulge when he stands, which is nice, to have people wanting you in this way is nice. But it's also a little bit awkward when she remembers who this is. He's not Jeremy. She doesn't know him or what he likes. This is a whole new experience.

It's not long before he's standing up and throwing her a t-shirt and some shorts. "They're too small for me so they should fit you."

* * *

Bonnie's in his bathroom struggling with the zipper until she gives up and opens the cracked door. Tyler's focused on the ceiling. His hands behind his head.

"I need help."

He moves the edge of the bed as she finds a position between his legs. His hands are warmer than she expects when they brush the exposed skin of her back. He pulls down her zipper and when the tip of his thumb runs along the spine of her dress, along the top of her spine she shivers and holds back a moan.

His touch isn't like Jeremy's, it's accidental where Jeremy's would have been firm, but there's comfort in that for some reason. That he isn't Jeremy. She turns, her hands holding up her dress and this time it's Tyler's eyes that avert.

It's not like he hasn't seen her in a swimsuit before. They've seen each other die and if that's not more intimate than this is she doesn't know what would be. This is not a big deal.

"_You can look_, if you want."

His eyes start at hers, asking again and slowly make their way down to her neck, he focuses there long enough to make her squirm, then down her collarbones, the valley of her breasts. She drops her hands to her side and the dress swishes dramatically to the floor.

She's wearing a simple black strapless bra and her underwear doesn't match, the neon orange and blue a contrast to dullness of her skin in the dim light. Bonnie grabs his hand and guides to her hip. He hovers first, again searching her eyes, caressing air before she presses it to her.

Her hands reach back to unclasp her bra when Tyler reaches up to stop her. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"_I know_. I want to, don't you?"

He nods. "Of course I do, but—"

"Please don't make this a thing okay."

"Bonnie—"

"It doesn't have to be, we don't have to…don't be weird about this."

His head quirks to the side, "why would I…I'm not expecting anything. I won't make it anything it isn't."

It's a good enough answer for her but when she goes to unhook her bra, he's there stopping her, again, and it takes a second before she realize she's unhooking it on his own. The material loses contact with her skin and she sighs.

His eyes are big on her, hands immediately working their way to gently palm her breasts. Lips press against the skin closest to his mouth as his hands slide back to her hips, slipping off the cotton panties.

She pulls his shirt off. Pushes him back. Works at the buckle of his pants.

"Bonnie, we don't have anywhere else to be." Her face warms at that and she tries to help him slide off his pants with more care. He lifts his hips to push his boxers down with a slowness that makes the ache between her legs more obvious.

* * *

"Your heart's racing," he says as he stares up at her from her seat in his lap. A hand is on his chest immediately. The nipple flat beneath her palm. She moves it a little to the side, feeling for his heartbeat, she doesn't get why she's frantic and he's seems so calm now.

She watches sadness that creep over his face when he reminds her he's dead, and she wants to apologize for bringing attention to it, apologize for not saving him from Klaus. But this isn't the time or the place, and he shakes it off quick enough. But she pictures the snap of his neck, hears it. Sees his body go limp.

He doesn't feel dead at all. His body's not ice cold the way she'd thought it'd be. It's all straining muscles and animated gestures, warm breath against her skin. It feels so natural, not mechanical at all, not dead. She kisses the place over his heart.

"Come on."

* * *

She's already so wet, weeks of foreplay probably haven't hurt, but she lets him get her right to the edge before she stops and moves to slide down on him. It takes adjusting, sex still new and it's always been too infrequent for her to get use to the stretch, but once she's seated on him she feels full, good.

Tyler's hands still her hips, his grip firm, when she wiggles a little. His voice is strained when he speaks, "you're so…_hot_."

"And that's bad?"

"No, it's…it's really not. It's just the first time since I…I didn't think you would feel so…"

"Hot?" she suggests.

"Amazing." She blushes at that and tucks her head to kiss his neck. He doesn't talk for a while and she doesn't try to move. Eventually he groans and his grip starts to wane. It becomes a guide rocking her back and forth over him.

She's kissing him. He's not really kissing back, mouth too slack, his sighs like aerosol pleasure seeping into her own mouth.

They switch positions seamlessly, his weight pressing her into the bed.

This is better.

He's in more control now, there's less thinking on her end, and he keeps saying her name like it pains him to stop.

She could get used to this.

His hand works between them, his strokes slowing but the pressure of his hand intensifying. Their eye contact never waivers and when she's on the edge, right before falling, she laughs and whimpers his name.

Bonnie wonders if she had sex before she started practicing magic would she have been so skeptical. If she would've known that something that seems so natural could feel so good she probably would've taken to the craft with more delight. The bubble wrapped ecstasy she feels doing a spell, the way power sugars itself all over her body, until it breaks from her skin, firing, exploding, popping is how she feels now; except there's no bad consequences.

It's perfect.

Tyler feels perfect to her right now.

The way he groans in her ear is perfect.

His body's shaking, head buried in the crook of her neck, and it's perfect too.

* * *

The dark curtains block most of the sunlight from the room but she can tell it's later on in the day, probably a little after noon.

The muscles in her legs are tired, not in a wholly unpleasant way, and they're sticky with him, with her. Tyler stopped snoring a while ago but she isn't sure he's awake. He hasn't moved or spoken yet. Maybe he's feeling weird since he's had time to sleep on it.

It doesn't faze Bonnie though as she starts planning out her day. There's a few good hours left before being in the witches house gets creepy—even for her, and she definitely prefers researching there. Pathetically, those are her only plans for a Saturday and she knows if she wasn't here right now, she'd probably already be hours into it.

"You okay?" He says turning his face towards the ceiling and thankfully not at her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. How about you?"

The sheets rustle when he finds her hand underneath the duvet, fingers intertwining between her smaller, softer ones and he squeezes. He turns onto his side then, smiling, tossing his arm around her and burying his head in her neck. His voice is raspy and full of sleep when he tells her he's fine too.

* * *

She's relaxed in a way she hasn't been in a long time but still none of her spells have worked so far.

Tyler's shoes creak as he comes down the stairs to the basement. She knows it's Tyler because he's the only one who would know she's here; the only one who'd be allowed this far. Her vision trails from the white soles of his sneakers and makes its way to his face. "I brought you snacks."

She smiles and he sits down crossed legged on the floor in front of her.

Bonnie rifles through the bag looking for the red ropes she knows he's gotten her and her hand wraps around a bottle.

The label of the nail polish doesn't mean much because it's definitely cotton candy chiffon. She shakes it, the ball rattling inside the small glass bottle and opens it, the smell hitting her hard as she the drags the excess on the rim. He won't look her in the eyes, finding the polish more interesting.

"I thought you'd like it."

"I do. Thank you."

He's being less weird than she'd anticipated but she can tell he's kind of embarrassed by the gift.

"Give me your hand."

Tyler's brow raises but he doesn't stop her when she swipes the polish on his nails. It's calming, the rhythmic stroking of the brush against his nails and she finds herself being lulled by the act, surprised when his voice rings out. "Is my debt considered paid off or do I still owe you?"

"You think a bag of snacks and nail polish covers going to that dance?"

"There was sex too."

She rolls her eyes at that and brings his hand closer to the candle, looking at the varnish in the light. "It's a nice color, very cute."

"It doesn't look as good on me as it does on you."

Bonnie hides her smile by blowing gently on the drying polish.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. **


	2. Safe

**A/N: I have no beta all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

They aren't particularly close, a little more than acquaintances and not exactly friends but he'd run out of options and she seemed like the best person to ask. Honestly, he'd thought she'd say no, but she'd told him to meet her afterschool in an old house right between the Salvatore's and the Fell's property and he wasn't going to argue.

"I can't break it, but I can transfer it. Who do you want me to transfer it to? Your mom?" The first person he thought about was Caroline. This isn't an ideal situation for anyone, but if he trusted anyone to have control him it'd be her, and at the moment she's not speaking to him, and he's angry with her so that's definitely out of the question.

"You."

"Me?"

"I trust you."

He has to. If he didn't, he wouldn't be here.

Tyler never felt the bond before but the moment she transfers it to herself, there's a feeling of _something_ he can't explain realigning.

"I think it worked."

"Me too."

He expects that to be the end of it. Bonnie doesn't have a reason to abuse her power, and he really does trust her. And what's the next sixty or so years compared to an eternity. It's nothing.

* * *

Tyler has had more dinners with his mother since he and Caroline have broken up then he has since his father died. They're sitting in the kitchen at the island as he watches her toss cucumbers into the salad bowl.

She's wearing shoes that clack as she moves around the kitchen and underneath the scent of food the scent of her office downtown clings to her. As of late she's been looking tired, he can smell that too, which is weird, to be able to scent out things like emotions, but he can tell that she's happy, probably the happiest she's ever been. It seems like she was cut out for this line of work, and despite his father having to die for her to find something she truly loves doing, he's happy for her.

"Are you sad that football season's over?" She asks as she pulls the garlic bread out of the oven.

He should be. He should be sad about all the things he wasn't able to fully participate in, all the things he's missed this year, but for some reason he doesn't.

Tyler places her plate on the counter, sliding into his own seat. "Not really. I've been dealing with so much this year, it wasn't really a priority. It's not like we even had a chance to go to state. " Matt quit, Jake was victim of an "animal attack", Quentin broke his ankle in the homecoming game and even if he'd had a normal senior year otherwise, it was by far the worst season they've had.

His mother looks at him with the sad expression she's always wearing when he talks about his "condition" (_I'm dead mom, you can say it_) and he wants to reach out and comfort her. He also wants her to do the same, to tell him that it'll be fine and they'll get through this. He wants the closeness they had after his father died when he felt like for once in his life she was really there for him.

His mother's not perfect and this "predicament" he's gotten himself into (as if it's his doing) is hard for her to talk about. It's obvious that she's nowhere close to getting past it when she changes the subject.

Tyler's sigh is involuntary.

"What is it, Tyler?"

"Nothing mom."

* * *

Later that night he's nodding off when he feels the shift and instead of the feeling of locking in place, there's emptiness. This is enough of a reason to call Bonnie and when it goes unanswered, he waits a few minutes to call back.

After his third call he gets the feeling that's something wrong and he's heading out the door into the cool November air.

Her house is empty, no cars in the driveway, no movement from inside, no heartbeats. His next thought is that she may be with the girls that a call to Caroline or Elena could calm his fears, but it would be honestly easier to just see if she's at that old house she'd taken him to when she performed the spell.

If she's not there, he can call, but there's no reason to worry everyone for no reason.

* * *

It's hard to believe that the world never actually stops spinning because in Mystic Falls it doesn't take much to feel like everything's stopped in place. It's happened plenty of times in Tyler's life: when he' s fourteen and his dad hits him for the first time, being told about father's death, finding out that he was a werewolf, becoming a hybrid. But the most recent is when he finds Bonnie dead in that old dusty house.

Her eyes are still open, otherwise her face serene. It's strange that this is the first time he's seen someone dead up close even after death has worked its way into every aspect of his life. At his father's funeral he passed at the opportunity to view the body one last time and there was too much happening for him to _really_ look at Sara.

Bonnie's body is cold and she's been gone way too long for anything he learned in health class to work. He contemplates giving her blood, but he's not sure it would work and he's terrified of the idea of turning someone and subjecting them to his fate.

He shuts her eyes and there's a feeling of panic that overcomes him. He'll have to take her into town, He's got to call her father. He'll have to deal with being the one who found her, who possibly killed her.

He paces, the floorboards creaking and rocking beneath his feet while he thinks of what he should do first.

He doesn't get a chance to do anything because she starts forcing air into her lungs as she coughs.

* * *

He's angry with her He takes her home that night and by the time he's finally drifted off there's a note left on the bed in the place where Bonnie slept. . It takes Bonnie less time to deal with her own death than it takes him.

Monday she's got her bag slung over her shoulder walking through the hallway on her way to her car after school and it's the first time he's seen her since.

Her feet never stop and she never looks at him despite acknowledging his presence with a wave of her hand.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

She tosses her bag into the backseat and pulls the handle to the driver's door and Tyler gently places his hand over hers.  
"Bonnie?"

Finally she looks at him and he can feel the tension in her body where their hands touch.

"I'm fine."

"I heard you the first time. Where are you going?"

Her eyes roll and she sighs dramatically. "Why?"

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," she says, this time with more bite than he knows she feels.  
"We haven't talked since…you—"

"Since I died… it's not a big deal." It's funny that he can't say the words he would kill to have his mother say.

"_You died_, Bonnie. How can you not think it's a big deal?"

"I'm a witch. It comes with the territory."

"Can you stop downplaying it?" The parking lot is clear now, a few cars still scattered across the small space.

"I'm not downplaying anything. I'm just not making it something that it isn't."

"What were you doing? When you…when you died I felt the bond—"

"It's gone now, completely."

She leans against the car, her arms crossing high across her chest.  
"You're saying you did that for me?"

"I'm saying that I don't want to be your sire, surrogate sire, master, whatever. I don't want to ever have that much power over anyone."

"You wouldn't have even had to use it! And what were you going to do anyway… were just going to die and not tell me?"

"I wasn't going to be permanent. Why would you care?"

"Why wouldn't I? Because you don't?"

Her eyes look off into the distance and when they make their way back to his; he can see the answer written across her face. "Drop it."

"Bonnie."

"Tyler leave it alone."

"You didn't need to die for me. I was fine with the way things were."

"Like I said I don't want you to be sired to me. You wanted your free will and I gave it to you. It's no big deal. It's was magic related and I'm the witch. It's what I do…we don't have to keep talking about it."

He tries to lower his voice, tries not to come off as angry as he is. "I'd die for you is just something you say for people, you're not actually expected to do it. You know that right? I don't need you to kill yourself for me. It's not your job to be the martyr."

That sparks some kind of emotion. It's too small and compact, _neat,_ to be anger but it's something.

"This conversation is over."

"Bonnie."

"I don't want to talk about anymore." She climbs into her car, slamming the door and pulling out of the parking lot.

Of course Caroline's standing there, her eyes questioning and somehow she manages to keep herself from asking him what she wants to know. He doesn't know how much she heard but it couldn't have been all of it. He should be surprised she's even talking to him, but the situation makes it hard to focus on that.

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything's great."

* * *

There are books strewn across the thick blankets, no grimoires this time, just regular text books that have the smell of Mystic Falls High woven throughout the pages. Half-eaten bags of candy are besides her head next to her pencil case. The pencils and pens however are strewn across the wooden floor.

He doesn't stand at the front door before she sighs and acknowledges his presence.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he says. Bonnie never moves, never opens her eyes from her position on the floor.

"It's cool. How'd you know I was here?"

"I took a guess. I just wanted to check up on you."

"I don't need you to check up on me."

"Friends do that for each other."

"We're friends now?"

"I'm pretty sure someone dying for you makes them your friend."

"Nobody's stopping you from calling yourself my friend, but you don't need to check up on me," she huffs.

"No. I'm not calling myself your friend, _I am your friend_. We're friends and friends look out for each other. I know you don't want to talk about it, but I think we should. You died for me. "

"You keep saying that…you don't owe me anything."

"Actually I do and I don't know if I can repay you but just let me be you friend, a real friend, not just whatever we were before…I think that's a good start."

She opens her eyes and motions to the empty spot beside her and Tyler lies down beside her. They both stare at the ceiling, the old wooden beams looking likely to fall on them at any second.

* * *

They lie there for hours. Tyler's interest in sparking conversation doesn't seem to interest her because the effort is in vain.

Eventually Bonnie gives him a look that could almost be interpreted as annoyance and she stands and stretches, Tyler following her lead. "I think I'm going to go home."

Nodding, he watches her slide on the light jacket and start shuffling things into her bag. "I'll be here tomorrow."

It's no invitation but its close enough.

* * *

It's a month later and he's meeting her there after school like he has every day. At first it feels like a secret. They don't do much beside exchange the rare glance in school but everyday he's anticipating meeting her at the house. He brings his homework and they sit on the softest pillows he's ever felt, ones that never collect the dust from the house and always smell distinctly of teenage girl and candy ropes. She talks out loud to herself a lot, which is unsettling the first couple of times she does it. Sometimes she looks over at him with this same blank expression as if she wants to say something, probably tell him to leave, but eventually she turns away back to her research.

It's been a week since Klaus cornered her outside the Grill and broke her arm. It's already healed due to his blood, but she's still shaken up about it, even if she won't admit it. He'd walked into the house to find her face tear streaked as she murmured an incantation underneath her breath the day it happened and every day since he comes in thinking the worst. She keeps fingering the place where her bone broke skin and all it does is serve as a reminder that Klaus is dangerous.

He still can't stop asking her if she's okay, not that she'd tell him if she wasn't. Her friends don't know and it's not his place to tell them, so he's taken this approach of trying to get her to leave the house to get it off her mind. "Maybe you should take a break, have some fun. You do remember what that is?"

He smiles but Bonnie isn't amused.

"Tyler you don't have to be here if you don't want to."

"I'm not saying that I don't. Just take a break."

"I don't get to just take a break, people are depending on me."

"So? One day—"

"One day is enough for Klaus to kill us all."

"He can't kill us if he's out of town."

Even with the bond broken he couldn't just stop showing up to see Klaus, and so far he hadn't been given any instructions besides keeping the plants watered while the Original was gone. He doesn't know if that's a joke or not.

"Please, Bonnie. This can't be good for you."

"I am tired," she admits and he knows how hard that is for her.

* * *

Movie then dinner. It's feels like a date, a real one, the kind he imagined taking Caroline on when life settled back into normalcy. Bonnie's good company when she wants to be. She's got a way of making him feel comfortable even when not speaking to him.

The bubbly girl he once knew seems like a completely different person. It seems like a lifetime ago she used to tag along with Matt during the summer while her friends were at camp. They'd hang out by the lake and drink Matt's then-stepdad's beer that was always lukewarm by the time they popped the cap, listening to music and swimming.

He's always had a crush on her, nothing serious enough to act on, not that she would ever reciprocate if he did, but he's never completely gotten over it. After Mason's death his crush had taken a backseat—with good reason, but when she joking with the old man that runs the diner on Third and she's laughing like she's made of cumulous clouds instead of skin and bones, it's back. The light in her eyes is short-lived, it fades seconds after the man leaves them to deal with the other patrons, but it's genuine, it's an indicator that even with everything changing, something's don't.

He can't ever describe what it is that makes humans feel alive to him, he suspects it's different things for every person, but the fragility in humanity is a common factor. Humanity is morbidly beautiful in the fact it's always moving toward death, sometimes in sickness, sometimes in health—but it's moving. It's the stagnancy of being dead that he hates and the cycle of change that he's constantly trying to recreate. He can't recreate it all, he can't get married or have kids but he does what he can.

_Be_ normal. Do normal things. Go to school. Go to basketball games. Eat dinner with his mom. Look at colleges.

That's enough for everyone around him. Caroline's the poster child of being a functional teenage vampire. She can somehow be the eighteen year old girl that plans every school function and attends every game and still gets on the honor roll, so it's only natural that she expected him to deal with vampirism the way she has. His mother's still in denial, a report card is still the best indicator of where he's going in life (death).

But Bonnie doesn't ask him to be anything and that makes him feels safe with her. Being dead has magnified his senses, made him stronger than he ever was as a human and somehow he feels safe with this girl who he's constantly reminded is breakable.

She's drowning in the red vinyl seat, the sea of red a backdrop to the black of her leather jacket, looking younger than she's looked in weeks.

"See, a lot more fun than research."

"Don't act like you just didn't want to go to the movies alone," she pops a fry into her mouth.

The seriousness in his voice surprises the both of them when he speaks.

"I kinda hate doing stuff by myself." This confession isn't deep, it's nothing profound, but it's the first time he's ever admitted it out loud. He's never enjoyed being alone, not when his mother was off planning events and his father locked in his office. That's why Matt was always around, until he wasn't. That's why he and Jeremy had gotten so close after years of animosity. That's why his relationship with Caroline got so intense so fast.

"You don't have that many friends. When aren't you alone?"

He flinches at that, the harshness of that reality something he doesn't want to deal with and she flinches too. "I'm close with the other hybrids," he says defensively and he doesn't know why that's gotten under his skin.

It's not a lie but they're not as close as he would like. They share a common experience, but now with his bond broken he feels disconnected to them. He sees them being fine with the way things work and it scares him seeing it from the outside looking in.

"They don't like going to the movies?"

Tyler glares at her and she sips on her milkshake. "I feel like I'm a traitor. They're all still under the sire bond and I'm free…and why should I be free when they aren't? They're the only other people in the world who can understand what I've been through and it feels like I'm betraying them."

Bonnie looks down into her glass and he know she wants to say something.

"What?"

"I will find a way to put Klaus down for good. And once he's gone the sire bond won't be able to hurt anyone. Don't let that cut you off from them."

"I didn't say that to make you feel guilty."

"That still doesn't mean it didn't. I'm just saying don't take them for granted. It's really hard to find people that understand you. Let me worry about Klaus."

_Let me worry about Klaus._ Bonnie is a comforter. He wonders if it's a skill she had to learn (like he's had to) or if comes naturally. She puts people at ease. It's strange because he's never noticed how easily she falls into that position. He came to her asking for help and she told him she'd take care of it. There's been plenty of times they've ran into trouble and Caroline's first call was Bonnie. Jeremy's done the same. It seems a little unfair for her to comfort him when she's the latest victim of Klaus' violence.

"Let me worry about you."

There's a moment of awkward silence before she rolls her eyes and starts to get out of the booth.

"Whatever Tyler."

* * *

Tyler's later than usual after Klaus calls him to the mansion for an impromptu dinner. They're shut in at her house, the rain keeping them inside.

"Wasn't expecting you to show up," she says leading him into her bedroom and plopping down on her bed.

"I was at the mansion. Klaus is back," he answers with a frown on his face.

"_Oh_…how'd it go?"

"It went well."

"Well?"

"I can't believe I used to have so much respect for him."

"It was the sire bond."

Tyler shakes his head,"no some of it was me."

Her brow quirks, "you can't know that."

Tyler nods his palms rubbing the brass ball off the bedpost.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"Promise me you won't judge me."

Skepticism is written across her face but she agrees.

"The night I died after we all left the school I went back to Caroline's. We were both really shaken up, so I stayed over. The sheriff was working overnight so I had to sneak out in the morning, and as soon as I got to my house Rebekah and Klaus were waiting for me. I was still pretty shaken up and afraid of them so it was easy to get me in the car.

Rebekah was the one who showed me how to feed while Klaus watched, he didn't do a lot of anything, really. He sat there and drank." His head shakes in disbelief, " I spent the night crying with Caroline about dying and I was almost responsible for somebody else dying the next morning…I didn't even feel bad about it first; I didn't for weeks. I was still scared of him then and he could sense that. He picked me up from school, he was just waiting for me after practice and he took me to dinner. It was a restaurant my dad used to take me to when I was little. I don't know how he knew about it, but he tried to make me feel comfortable, laid it on really thick….. he told me that he would look out for me. 'We're family now Tyler. I'm always going to look out for your best interest," he says mockingly.

"Klaus knew a lot of stuff about me. My dad, Mason and Jules. I think I just wanted a family, a real one. My dad wasn't…my dad was dick and my mom just ignored it, pretended he wasn't for the sake of appearances… I don't know how he knew, maybe I'm that obvious… but I believed him… I was going through a lot, you know, I just wanted to never have to feel alone again.

He told me not to look at being turned as a negative. _You've gained much more than you've lost. You have a family, people who will love you unconditionally until the end of time. And now you will know what it's like to truly live. You can thank me later_."

"I know that it was all lies, but sometimes when I'm around him it feels true. I've never hated anyone the way I hate him…he hurt you, all of us…but I was with him today and I was pretending that everything was fine…I could almost forget that he's... Klaus. I think that if I keep pretending, I might start believing it. I don't want to be the kind of person that could be that stupid or the kind of person that makes excuses for him, but everybody I know that cares about me is going to die, and I know he does care in a weird way…what if he's all I have left?"

Her hug is awkward at first, her arms wrapping around him tentatively before he hugs her back.

It's a long time before she pulls back, hands brushing his shoulders and neck and face. "He's never going to be all you have okay."

Bonnie yanks at the bedspread until he moves enough for her to slip in. She holds up the corner and waits for him to slide underneath, snuggling up behind him, her body heat warming the bed, her pulse drumming in his ears. He'd gotten used to silence while sleeping but this comforting too.

"Can I tell you something?" she whispers, tickling the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Yeah."

"Promise you won't judge me."

"I promise."

"A few weeks ago Klaus asked me to work for him, to be his witch. Obviously, I said no, which is why he broke my arm, but I thought about it. He knew stuff about me and the girls, about my parents. He told me he could give me things they couldn't. "

"And it got to you?"

"No, that's the thing. It didn't. _I didn't even care. _Then he threatened me and I thought about how easy it would be for him to kill me and how easy it would be to let him do it. I wouldn't even fight back. "

"Bonnie…"

"Don't make me regret telling you that."

* * *

A week later it's like that day never happened. This time they're in the basement while she tests out the spells on the coffins. He can sense that she's on edge, stressed about Klaus and he feels helpless. His voice reverberating off the walls until it's the only thing he can hear. "Can I ask you something?"

"You're going to anyway."

He laughs at that and rubs at the polished wood for the coffin. "Do you think it'll get better for us once Klaus is dead?"

"Elena thinks it will. She's always saying that."

"But what about you? You don't believe that."

"I believe that things don't just get better, _people make them better…__**I**_have to make them better."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the only one that can."

"That's not really fair."

"Life isn't fair, Tyler," she says with a hint of humor in her voice. "I really loved magic once, sometimes I still do, but I didn't choose this life for myself. It just happened. What kind of person would I be if I didn't try to make things better for everyone who can't?"

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"If you have a responsibility to make things better for everybody else, who makes them better for you?" His tone is conversational, he's not trying to analyze her or anything, but there's a long pause between the end of the question that makes him realize it's probably more contemplative than casual and he watches Bonnie close off more than she already is.

"To always have to take care of everybody sounds stressful and lonely. "

"I could see why you would think that."

* * *

Bonnie she arrives at his door wearing a pair of jeans and her old cheerleading hoodie and as much as a smile as she can muster. "You wanna hang out?"

They sit side by side on the living room floor while some documentary about the Salem Witch Trials runs. Bonnie eyes have been glued to the screen ever since it started besides the time she looks at him to comment about how uncomfortable this makes her. But when he asks her if she wants to change it she says no.

This is when she tells him why the house in the woods creeps him out as much as it does.

"I just like being there. It's the only time that I ever really feel safe...and I've had problems with the spirits but I know that as long as I'm there they won't let anything happen to me.."

0"This is nice, _just hanging out_ " she says when the credits begin to roll. Bonnie looks over at him and smiles. "Thank you for this." Her hand runs along his arm and squeezes when she gets to his hand.

He's not anticipating her to kiss him, especially not the way she does, mouth pressed hard against his. It takes him by surprise but he starts to lean into it, her hand moves to cu his cheek.

He doesn't know how long it takes before he ends up on his back with her on top of him. He doesn't know how long they've been kissing when she pulls away panting and staring down at him.

Tyler doesn't get to ask her what they doing before she asks, "We're friends?"

"Friends do this?"

"We do…_we can?_"

It's an out if he wants to take it. He answers by pulling her back down to his mouth.

* * *

**This update took so long because this was all the background I didn't want to write. I usually have one line that makes me want to write the chapter and the line I had for this one just felt wrong for his part of the story. Idk it was weird. **

**And as far as the timeline goes, which I guess I should comment on since the canon one makes zero sense. A whole three months of nothing happening annoys me and makes everything else happening not have an impact since something else huge usually happens days after it. **

**Sacrifice/Damon gets bitten - mid April.**

**Stefan and Klaus come back/Tyler gets turned - mid June**

**Forwood breakup – August**

**This story starts around late September. **


End file.
